Merritt Island, United States - July 27, 2024

SpaceX has returned to action with the successful launch of the Starlink 10-9 mission, marking the Falcon 9 rocket's comeback after a recent upper stage incident. The two-week hiatus ended as the Falcon 9 lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 1:45 a.m. EDT (0545 UTC) on Saturday.

The mission, which was the 50th dedicated Starlink launch of 2024, proceeded smoothly with confirmation of payload deployment just over an hour after liftoff. This launch follows an incident on July 11 during the Starlink 9-3 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base, where a liquid oxygen leak affected the upper stage.

Despite the setback, SpaceX received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to resume Falcon 9 launches before completing the formal mishap investigation. The FAA's public safety determination concluded that there were no safety issues related to the anomaly, allowing SpaceX to proceed with launch operations under stringent license requirements.

Sarah Walker, SpaceX's Director of Dragon Mission Management, emphasized NASA's involvement in the investigation process, highlighting collaborative efforts with the FAA to ensure safety and readiness to return to flight. The incident analysis identified a crack in a sensor line as the cause of the leak, prompting SpaceX to remove the problematic sensor and conduct rigorous testing to prevent future issues.